1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a gymnastic apparatus and, more particularly, to a gymnastic apparatus capable of being mounted for use indoors or outdoors such as on a children's swing set and can provide climbing, swinging and rotating functions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, various gymnastic apparatus have been devised for use for children in order to provide them with recreational facilities. One standard form of gymnastic apparatus which has been very popular is the rectangular bars known as "monkey bars" which consists of a plurality of vertical and horizontal bars attached together to form cubes with the bottom-most vertical bars usually imbedded in a fixed permanent position in the ground. One disadvantage associated with "monkey bars" is that they were often a source of injuries to children due to the rigid construction thereof including the usual use of metal bar members which very often created injurious accidental blows on portions of the bodies of children.
Another common gymnastic apparatus that was popularly used by children in the past and is still being used today is the simple swing which consists of a flat metal or wooden rectangular piece connected at each end by long metal chains which are used to swing a child or person in a pendulum-like manner. One problem with this simplified swing is that it often became very tedious after only a few minutes of use because of the relative swinging monotony that was created.
A need existed to develop a gymnastic apparatus that could have both the swinging movement of a swing and the climbing features of a "monkey bar" apparatus. Furthermore, a gymnastic apparatus was needed that would also provide rotational movement and a variety of movable structures to provide different apparatus configurations.